Meet the Faculty

Blunt holds an M.S. in Industrial Safety Management from UCM and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from University of Missouri, Columbia. She is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and has been a safety sciences faculty member at UCM since 1999. Blunt is a Professional Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and is currently the Assistant Administrator of ASSE’s Academics Practice Specialty.

Ammon holds an M.S. in Industrial Safety Management from UCM and is currently working on a doctoral degree in Education Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Ammon has worked in the Air Force and as a Hazmat Coordinator for the University of Central Missouri. He has been a faculty member in Safety Sciences since 2008 and coordinates the fire science minor. He is also a Lieutenant in the Training Division of Johnson County Fire Protection District (JCFPD) and a member of the Water Rescue.

Allen holds a M.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health from Saint Louis University and pursuing Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from University of Missouri, Columbia. She has been a safety sciences faculty member at UCM since 2010. Allen is a Professional Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). She has held a variety of health and safety professional positions in the pyrotechnic, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and heavy manufacturing industries for 31 years prior to entering academia.

Greife holds a M.S. in Industrial Hygiene from UCM and Ph.D. in Occupational Toxicology from the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests are exposure assessments for epidemiological studies and the interaction of co-exposure of PAH respirable particles on the initiation of lung cancer. Dr. Greife is currently the Dean of the college of Health, Science and Technology and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist. She also serves on the Applied Science Commission for ABET.

Hicks holds a B.S. in Industrial Safety and M.S. in Industrial Hygiene from the University of Central Missouri. Mr. Hicks is a professional member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), NFPA and AIHA. Mr. Hicks is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH). He has held a variety of plant, regional and corporate health and safety management positions in general manufacturing, the public sector, food and beverage manufacturing and packaging, building materials manufacturing and in private consulting.

Hirner is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) who holds a B.S. in Safety Management and M.S. in Industrial Safety Management from University of Central Missouri. He has over sixteen years of combined health and safety experience in general industry, construction, mining, environmental remediation and security. He is a professional member of the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Iske holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and was a Visiting Research Associate, Postdoctoral Appointment, at Ohio State University. Dr. Iske is both a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and a Certified Safety Professional (CSP). His research interests include development of educational training programs for Industrial Hygiene and Safety, exposure monitoring for air contaminants, dermal evaluation research and pharmaceutical exposure assessment. Dr. Iske serves as an ABET Site Evaluator and a leader within the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), standard consensus organizations (ASTM and ISO - US Delegate ISO TC 146 Air Quality), and other professional activities. He is an Honorary Fellow in ASTM and AIHA.

His research interests include industrial hygiene, ergonomics, safety management, risk assessment, PtD, air quality, alternative fuels, LEAN Six Sigma practices and business aspects of Environmental Health and Safety. Georgi Popov received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the National Scientific Board and an M.S. in Nuclear Instrumentation - Engineering Physics from Defence University. In 2001 Dr. Popov graduated from Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He also has a post-graduate certification in Environmental Air Quality. He is a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP).

Environmental Safety and Health Laboratory coordinator - Parvanov holds MS degree in Physics with specialization in Optics and Spectroscopy from University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski” and a PhD in Chemistry with specialization in Materials Modeling from Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Parvanov has worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at University of Central Michigan, Emory University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the field of modeling and characterization of nano-materials, nano-particles and materials for hydrogen storage. Dr. Parvanov’s recent research interests include development and application of modeling, analytical and detection methods in the field of Industrial Hygiene and Environmental and Occupational Safety.

John Zey, professor and masters program coordinator for safety sciences

Zey holds a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in IH, both from UCM and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Missouri. He has taught at UCM since 1996. From 1976 -1996, John worked for NIOSH, where he conducted industry-wide studies, health hazard evaluations and worked as a training grants officer. He is a certified industrial hygienist. His research interests include program assessment, industrial hygiene assessments and sampler variability. He is the Chair of the AIHA Academic Sig, and a member of AIHA, ACGIH, ASSE and ASHRAE.